LONDON, March 9 — Ukraine’s ambassador to London said today that 100,000 Ukrainian refugees could eventually come to Britain as he called on the government to relax the conditions for granting visas for people fleeing the conflict with Russia.
Russian forces have subjected some Ukrainian cities and towns to relentless bombardments, leading to the fastest displacement of people in Europe since World War Two.
Many countries in other parts of Europe have allowed Ukrainian refugees to enter without visas. Britain has required people have visas, and the application process has led to criticism that it is too slow and bureaucratic.
Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko told a parliamentary committee that he understood security checks were required, but asked for the visa process to be simplified.
“Most people don’t have passports with them, their homes were bombed, we’re not printing passports in my embassy,” he told the British parliament’s Home Affairs committee.
“In reality if you have a one-year-old, it is definitely not a terrorist. So you can strike them out of the list of potential terrorist risks.”
Asked whether he would like to see a plane travel from Britain to Poland or Romania to bring back refugees, Prystaiko said: “If you want to send planes, send F-16s.” — Reuters
